Birds and Nature

Yesterday (Saturday) I got the top 3 pics of the female Scissor-tailed Flycatcher that is nesting south of Florence, CO when flew near to where I was parked (the driveway several hundred feet north of the nest tree). I watched her catch a couple of insects and could see that at least one was a grasshopper. The pic below is very interesting both because I caught her in mid-flight so the salmon-pink underwing patches show nicely but also because there is a grasshopper in the air just above her. In a photo below that I took today the female had lost the grasshopper apparently because it's leg came off so this might be the reason for the grasshopper in this pic too. The next 4 pics that I took today, again when the female foraged near to where I was parked, show a very interesting sequence. In the pic above the female has a good sized grasshopper in her bill that she has caught. In the pic now above the grasshopper has come out of her bill--note the grasshopper leg no...

All the photos I got earlier this week were of the male Scissor-tailed Flycatcher and all the photos I have seen posted on Facebook and ebird have also been of the male. I had a meeting in a town not far from the location these rare birds have been located so dropped by just after 6:30 pm. When I saw her it was obvious this was the female as her tail is much shorter than the males. She did not stay put though and this was the only photo I got of her before she flew off. I couldn't stay but a few minutes to get this pic as I had to go the meeting but I returned afterwards at close to 8 pm. I saw the female perched on the tree on which she and the male have most often been seen, mostly right above the nest that is there. I did not see the male tonight. She flew off for about 5 min then returned briefly then flew off to unknown location at about 8:15 as it got dark. SeEtta